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Hoya Is Likely to Launch
New Offer to Buy Pentax

Updated May 18, 2007 12:01 a.m. ET

Hoya Corp. of Japan will likely launch a tender offer to buy Pentax Corp. shares as soon as next month if Pentax's board formally approves the bid. The move would bring an end to a more than monthlong tug of war over the fate of Pentax, an optical-equipment maker and one of Japan's most recognized camera makers, which has fallen on hard times. Hoya, eager to acquire Pentax's expertise in medical equipment, has pursued a deal even after Pentax unilaterally scrapped a merger agreement signed in December. A Hoya spokesman said Thursday that his company will go ahead with the tender offer as previously planned if Pentax...